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HHS, PEPFAR work toward AIDS-free generation

"As World AIDS Day 2012 approaches, it is a timely opportunity to reflect on what we learned at this year's International AIDS Conference" and recognize "the United States, through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has been a remarkable vehicle in this fight, employing sound science to offer the highest quality interventions and treatment," Nils Daulaire, director of the Office of Global Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), writes in the AIDS.gov blog.

28 Nov 2012

Workshop examines Post-MDG Agenda for Global Health

Writing in the Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR) "Development Channel" blog, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at CFR, reports on a workshop on the post-2015 development agenda.

28 Nov 2012

Progress check on states and health insurance exchanges

With Democrats regaining control of the New Hampshire House, lawmakers could revisit a GOP decision not to build a health insurance exchange. In the meantime, Oregon, California and Missouri officials seek to clarify their options.

28 Nov 2012

Impact of Medicaid expansion would vary by state, according to study

The analysis released Monday explored how some states would experience savings while others would see cost increases as a result of the health law's plan to expand Medicaid.

28 Nov 2012

Study broadens understanding of how cells regulate X chromosome inactivation

In a paper published in the Nov. 21 issue of Cell, a team led by Mauro Calabrese, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina in the lab of Terry Magnuson, chair of the department of genetics and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, broadens the understanding of how cells regulate silencing of the X chromosome in a process known as X-inactivation.

28 Nov 2012

IPS examines undernourishment, efforts to reverse vitamin deficiencies

"Poverty is the leading cause of many vitamin deficiencies, especially vitamin A," and the problem is acute in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where food staples such as cassava and rice are high in calories but low in nutrients, Inter Press Service reports.

28 Nov 2012

USAID launches '16 Days of Activism' for Elimination of Gender Violence

"This week we launch the 16 Days of Activism for the Elimination of Gender Violence, which runs from November 25 to December 10," Carla Koppell, senior coordinator for gender equality and women's empowerment at USAID, writes in the agency's "IMPACTblog."

28 Nov 2012

Global Fund's new funding model 'designed to be flexible, focused, fast'

In the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) "Smart Global Health" blog, Todd Summers, senior adviser at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, reviews the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's old rounds-based grant system that the Global Fund Board recently agreed to replace with a new funding model "that's designed to be flexible, focused, and fast," he says.

28 Nov 2012

Critics look to House panels to restrain health law; Big policy issues remain

Questions remain on implementing the health law -- both politically and in settling policy matters -- as opponents look to House committees to police the Obama administration's activities to get the law up and running.

28 Nov 2012

Democrats resist significant changes to Medicare, other entitlement programs

Efforts to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" have revived talk of raising Medicare's eligibility age. Some Republicans also suggest that spending to carry out the health law should be viewed as a source for savings. Meanwhile, an important meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

28 Nov 2012

High court OKs Liberty University's push to argue claims against the health law

The arguments, which were not considered in the earlier Supreme Court review of the overhaul, maintain that it is unconstitutional for the government to require large employers to provide health insurance to their full-time workers or pay a tax and that the law violates the school's religious freedoms.

28 Nov 2012

U.N. Human Rights Council passes resolution condemning female genital mutilation

The U.N. General Assembly Human Rights Council on Monday adopted by consensus a resolution calling on U.N. member states to condemn female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) and "launch education campaigns for girls and boys, women and men, to eliminate it," the Associated Press reports.

28 Nov 2012

State roundup: Conn. official says bulk buying prescription drugs could help budget

The state's chief fiscal watchdog is asking legislators and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration to take a second look at how government purchases prescription medication -- and a proposal he believes could save more than $65 million over the next fiscal year.

28 Nov 2012

Investing in eyeglasses in developing nations could boost global economy, study shows

"Eliminating the worldwide shortage of eyeglasses could cost up to $28 billion, but would add more than $200 billion to the global economy, according to a study" conducted by researchers from Australia and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published last month in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, the New York Times reports.

28 Nov 2012

Guardian published winning article from International Development Journalism Competition

The Guardian on Sunday published the winning article and a number of shortlisted articles from its International Development Journalism Competition.

28 Nov 2012

WHO releases inaugural issue of newsletter following developments of agency's reform

The WHO has released the inaugural issue of its newsletter Change@WHO, which will follow the developments of WHO reform, according to the agency's website, which notes "each issue will report on the three strands of programs and priority setting, governance and managerial reform."

28 Nov 2012

Microneedle-based measles vaccine can immunize against measles

Measles vaccine given with painless and easy-to-administer microneedle patches can immunize against measles at least as well as vaccine given with conventional hypodermic needles, according to research done by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

28 Nov 2012

Canada's foreign aid should reflect its values of gender equality, democratic governance, health

"As we head into the time of year people usually associate with selflessness and giving, Canadians should stop and think about whether our country is doing enough for international development," Steven Hoffman, an assistant professor at McMaster University, a fellow at the University of Toronto and an instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health, writes in a Globe and Mail opinion piece.

28 Nov 2012

Global Polio Eradication Initiative IMB report optimistic but warns of possible polio resurgence in 2013

Though there is "significant risk" of a resurgence of polio in 2013, a new report from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is optimistic about the eradication of the disease, noting that 99.9 percent of polio has been stopped worldwide, with 175 cases reported so far in 2012 compared with 350,000 reported in 1988, BBC News reports.

28 Nov 2012

Tips to effectively discuss end-of-life care

It's one of the toughest questions patients and their loved ones can discuss with physicians: When is further medical treatment futile? The conversation can become even more difficult if patients or their families disagree with health care providers' recommendations on end-of-life care.

28 Nov 2012